Since its inception, the Circus International Film Festival has been at its core a dedication to the love of circus and film. Exemplified by the over 50 films from 17 countries in the festival, there has been no shortage of innovation and creativity in the growing circus film genre.

The 2023 Circus International Film Festival boasted a month of circus films delivered to audiences daily and a jury of fifteen circus and film professionals from around the world, as well as a variety of events for filmmakers and audience members. Past festival winners joined for a panel to discuss their work, filmmakers had the opportunity to network at virtual meetups, and the video series Off Script was launched as part of the 2023 CIFF season, all organized and run by the powerhouse team behind the festival (Marisa Diamond, Jonathan Meehan, and Emily Fulton).

Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 Circus International Film Festival

Under 18 Category:

Juried & Audience Choice Award: 998 Good Bricks – Morrison Helton (USA)

Short Non-Documentary Category:

Juried Award: Feral – Daisy Black (UK)

Audience Choice Award: (re)Start – Colectivo Bordel (ARG)

Short Documentary Category:

Juried & Audience Choice Award: All That We Have – Eric Bates, Stefanie Fournier (CAN)

Short Shorts Category:

Juried Award: Walls Beneath Our Feet – Antti Suniala (FIN)

Audience Choice Award: Fantasy – William Brandon (USA)

Full-Length Category:

Juried Award: Persephone Bound: Continuing the Conversation – Michelin Chevrier, Fred Barrette (CAN)

Audience Choice Award: URUBU – Tato Sanches (BRA)

Founder’s Awards:

The Show Must Not Go On – Remy Archer (UK)

COMMON GROUND – Victoria Dela Amedume (UK)

Brave Clown – Paúl Gomex (USA)

Life ∞ Hope – DoubleV (TWN)

Thank you to the Jury of the 2023 Circus International Film Festival:

Under 18 Category

Eve Gordon (NZ), Power Rangers, founder of The Dust Palace

Izzi Kessner (USA), two-time CIFF juried award winner, Nike ad campaign model

Short Shorts Category

Christo Tsiaras (USA), Boston Comedy Film Festival Best Picture, The Disney Channel

Miguel Garcia (USA), Cirque du Soleil, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Kevin Beverly (USA), Gravity & Other Myths, Les 7 Doigts de la Main

Shorts – Documentary Category

Léah Wolff (CAN), Cirque du Soleil

Veronica Blair (USA), “The Uncle Junior Project”

Sonya Ballantyne (Cree Nation), The Walking Dead: LAST MILE

Shorts – Non-Documentary Category

Johnny Kim (USA), Cirque du Soleil, Dragone

Isabelle Chassé (CAN), Les 7 Doigts de la Main

Thomas Chambers (CAN), Warner Brothers, Cirque du Soleil

Junru Wang (CHN) Les 7 Doigts de la Main, Cirque du Soleil

Full-Length Category

Mel Bayol (UK), Cirque du Soleil

Taras Shevchenko (USA/CAN), Cirque du Soleil

LeeAnn Ball (CAN), Canada’s Got Talent

Thank you to our sponsors:

CircusTalk, Las Vegas Circus Center, Sparc International, The Actor’s Company, Diamond Family Circus, The American Youth Organization/American Circus Educators

For more information about the Circus International Film Festival, visit circusinterntationalfilmfest.com and follow them on FB and Instagram @circusinternationalfilmfest

Check out full coverage for CIFF 2023 here.

Main image: Left to Right: Persephone Bound: Continuing the Conversation - Michelin Chevrier, Fred Barrette (CAN); 998 Good Bricks - Morrison Helton (USA); (re)Start - Colectivo Bordel (ARG); Walls Beneath Our Feet - Antti Suniala (FIN)